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Piano Sonata in F major, K332

Introduction

In contrast to the homogeneous K330, the triple-time first movement of the Sonata in F major, K332, contains a lavish array of contrasting material, with more than a whiff of opera buffa. As in the finale of K330, the textures here often suggest other sound worlds: oboes and horns in the minuet-like response to the Arcadian opening theme, a deep gurgling clarinet in the triplets that accompany the embellished repeat of the ‘second subject’. Mozart offsets this lyricism with a quasi-orchestral outburst in D minor, and, later, a tense, syncopated passage whose rapid alternations of forte and piano momentarily blur the metre. Yet again the development begins with a new cantabile theme before Mozart gets to work on the disruptive syncopated idea.

Like the slow movement of the recently composed F major Piano Concerto, K413, the B flat major Adagio transmutes the idiom of J C Bach into Mozartian poetry. The delicately sculpted main theme is immediately repeated in B flat minor, with a hint of wistfulness, and expressively ornamented in the recapitulation. The more elaborate embellishments in the first published edition (1784) were presumably added by Mozart himself, and give us a glimpse of his own improvisations.

Beginning with a flamboyant toccata-like flourish—the most technically demanding music in the sonatas K330–333—the 6/8 finale matches the opening Allegro’s abundance of contrasting ideas. As in the first two movements, the music turns readily to the minor both in the exposition (for a melancholy cantabile) and at the start of the development, where the toccata figuration erupts dramatically in C minor. Mozart surprisingly omits one of his themes—a gentle pastoral tune over a drone bass—from the recapitulation. But with his unerring feeling for balance and resolution he brings it back in the final bars to create a deliciously understated pianissimo ending.

Recordings

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Wanda Landowska (1879–1959) has achieved such fame for her 20th-century revival of the harpsichord that it is sometimes forgotten that she was a very fine pianist and continued to play music of the classical period on modern piano. This set brings ...» More